INDUSTRY VIEWPOINT - The Next Big Thing for resellers
Johannes Nill, managing director of AVM, believes that ISDN is a significant revenue opportunity not to be missed by the Var
Demand for higher-speed internet access, Lan-to-Lan bridging and remote access to enterprise networks is providing Vars and system integrators with a significant revenue opportunity. And it's easy to see why. According to Dataquest, Europe has an estimated 59 per cent slice of the worldwide ISDN cake, and the UK can expect year-on-year growth of at least 100 per cent.
Leading the ISDN charge is BT. The telco is making a great effort to promote the benefits of ISDN, through a massive advertising spend directed at both home and business users. The company is currently installing ISDN lines at the pretty impressive rate of over 6,000 per week.
With a growing number of Vars becoming aware of the size of the business opportunity, the benefits of ISDN, the applications it can enhance and how it outshines current competitive technologies, it's no wonder that vendor revenues are increasing dramatically. Walk in to any business and tell them the net result will be an increase in efficiency, quality and cost savings, and it's a fair bet that somebody will sit up and take notice.
Providing bandwidths ranging from 64K through to 2Mb, ISDN offers home office, small business and enterprise network users a considerable number of advantages over traditional dial-up connections. In addition to the higher transmission speeds, ISDN users benefit from reduced call charges, near-instant connections, the clarity and accuracy of digital transmission and increased security through CLI implementation.
Increasingly sophisticated graphic content and large attachments to emails make ISDN essential in reducing download times for business of all sizes. We all know the amount of traffic already jamming the electronic highways is immense and anything that offers to reduce that gridlock should be openly embraced.
Furthermore, ISDN's exceptionally fast call set-up provides an ideal answer for the remote access user, seamlessly integrating them into Lans as if they were on-site. Enterprise networks are increasingly implementing ISDN connections for Lan-to-Lan bridging, leased-line back-up or overflow, videoconferencing and telephony.
Application software allows PC users to access an ISP, send and receive emails and faxes, transfer data files at high speed, access bulletin boards and other information services and answer incoming calls. Enterprise networks can install adapters in their servers along with integrated multi-platform application software, including both NetWare and Windows NT.
Vars and systems integrators can choose from a wide catalogue of hardware and software to suit every client's needs. From adapters for ISA/EISA, PCI, PCMCIA or USB bus architectures through to rack-mounted T1 primary rate controllers and mobile ISDN, the opportunities to make margin are huge.
According to IDC's European ISP Survey, ISDN will be the predominant internet access method in the year 2000. If you're a reseller looking to expand your range of services and increase revenues then look no further.
ISDN-related technologies are in demand - and that demand is growing.
Don't miss the boat.